Hey, my name is Jeff and i'm 31 years old. I'm married to my beautiful wife Amanda, have two beautiful 2.5 year old twin girls Sofie and Ally, and 2 dogs. I play poker close to full time online (not anymore) now LIVE, at least try to. Music is also a big part of my life. Writing, listening, and hopefully starting my band back up in some near future!!!

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

So it's the end of August and have to say it was a lot of ups and downs pokerwise. I took a week off as well when I went to Florida, so I didn't put in the same amount of volume I usually put in. I managed however to throw in a good mix of 50NL and 100NL towards the last week and a half of the month, I put in around 13000 hands at 100nl. However, I also managed to start putting in a lot longer sessions over this past 11 days keeping my sessions to around 4500 hands+. I also forgot that I cashed in the million dollar freeroll for $225, so I had a decent month with all the swings. I have a lot of work to put in at 100NL if I want to beat it, but I'm going to do it if I want to keep course for SNE next year.

September is right around the corner, and I plan on putting in a good amount of volume at 100NL if not more than 50NL. Until then......

Friday, August 27, 2010

So I finally decided to put in some epic sessions (12000 hands) of 100NL and 50NL to get a feel of the long grinds ahead of me. Well, it was a pretty brutal knockout in the face for me. I got crushed at both stakes. Most of it being at 100NL.

I just couldn't seem to get anything working for me and the regs at 100NL seem to fight a lot more for pots and make some more creative plays than at 50NL.

I lost all at 100NL...2 times AA vs KK, 2 times KK vs AA, won 1 out of 4 flips. Dominated running into big hands like TT vs AA and QQ vs AA, and getting outfloped in a 4b pot when they hit a set against my KK or AA which happened twice as well post flop.

Add all those up at 100NL and it just wasn't good. 50NL wasn't good for me either and lost a good chunk there as well. The only thing I can say is when I got back from Florida and put in my 10K hands the first few days, I did extremely well and basically lost what I won this week.

I have to really step up my game, pick more spots to fight for pots, get a little more creative but not fancy play syndrome for 100NL and at 50NL don't get to crazy. It seems like the regs at 100NL get it in a lot more lighter both preflop and post flop. But then again, I could be wrong, most definately player dependent for sure. I just have to learn from my mistakes, study the regs a lot more, and really....I mean really work on my game at the 100NL.

Monday, August 23, 2010

Last week, me and my wife decided to head to Florida to check it out because we are planning to move there. So we left for a week and basically was going to be a mini vacation/seeing if we like Florida. So during that time, I was going to put some time and volume playing poker still. My plan was to put in 25k-30k hands in considering I was going to loss some time playing driving to Florida and driving back to New York, roughly 3 days without grinding. So I had a good 5 days in Florida to wake up early every day and grind and still have time to do things.

Truth be told, I just had problems after problems trying to play. My computer was running like crap, the big thing was the internet wasn't super good, and I couldn't seem to get the time in when I finally got everything working again. I played the 1st day I got to the room and I was timing out every 5 minutes, spewed of a bit, and only managed to get a total of 5500 hands in for Florida. Really hard to play when the internet is not good. And one of those days, the internet didn't work at all because the hotel made some changes to the internet like needing a password which they didn't have.

So, I had to make due and decided just to clean up my laptop, do some studying away from the tables, check out some of the forums, and look for a coach to help me with 100NL. I found 3 coaches that I really wanted to work with and all really solid winners. I decided to stick with one coach and talked to him while in Florida and was really excited on his thoughts and things he can really help me with. I also had a chance to talk to another coach while there. I told my friend about him and he basically got coaching from him that same night I told him about him. I got a chance to listen in and talk during the conversation which was awesome. So I learned quite a bit of stuff and had a really nice conversation with my buddy about 3betting and ev calculations against certain opponents.

What I'm really trying to get at I guess is even when you are away from the tables, there is still a lot of stuff to do with poker and working on your game. Heck, i'm trying to work on SNE, so I have to keep on grinding away from the tables.

So, I am back from Florida now with a game plan. I've also been throwing in a mix off 100NL with my 50NL tables to get a good feel for the new limit. I have a coach and we start our first session tomorrow. Now I just have to make up for lost volume!

Friday, August 13, 2010

Hey again blog, I've been thinking what to write about the past week since I've been grinding it out this week and I thought about Time(Roll) Management. When you think about bankroll management, you have to have enough money to support the limits you are playing at anytime. It determines weather or not you are able to move up or down in the stakes. What I have come up with Time(Roll) Management is you have to have enough time to be able to play enough poker while having enough time to maintain a life outside of poker. It also determines how much time you want to dedicate to poker based around your life circumstances. I think its a perfect fit while I pursuit SNE. It's a way to balance you as a person, a poker player, a family man, a student, etc. If you take poker serious to any degree even part time or full time, you really need to manage your time properly and that is in every aspect of life. It's something I have been trying to work on the past year and until this day still find it tough to do.

So how do you manage time around playing poker? This is really tough for me as all of you know. I literally spend 6-8 hours a day trying to put in volume playing as many hands I can while working on building my bankroll and supporting my family. I also have to spend time working on my game, weather it be reviewing my sessions, going over hand histories, watching a training video, posting in poker forums, writing in this blog, or just talking about the game in itself. I also work part time in the evenings which takes up anywhere between 12-24 hours a week. Have enough time to spend with my family, try to have time to do little things to help out, and have enough time to spend with my wife.

Right now I feel is most important in my poker career is being able to build my bankroll up and this is where it involves time. Lately this month and pretty much throughout the past few months my wins have resulted in shorter sessions and losses result in longer sessions. It's been a real problem for me that I have really been improving on. My volume has increased but no where near the potential I think I'm capable of. The thing in the past is I have been pretty much break even over the course of 4 months and volume was never an issue. Since I've had more success than note over the 2 months, I have to say that my time management has been a bit tougher since I have to try and make up some time here and there over the day or week since when I have winning sessions, I tend to take more breaks which maybe longer or quitting for the day. My friend pretty much staked me for a session so I can put in more volume after I had a +7 buy-in session over 2600 hands. Unfortunately that same day he staked me, I put in 3500 hands and managed to lose him -3 BI's.

As you can see, its a battle. What I realized about pursuing SNE is really pursuing yourself. Life isn't all about poker and I think to some who pursue SNE, they get really stressed or give up because it's just too much work. You need to find a balance and chasing SNE is no different. Some days I grind a lot, if feels like a walk in the park and some days feel like it's never going to end. The later part of that is what I need to work on. I need to get over winners tilt. I need to work on more volume, build my bankroll, and work on my Time(Roll) Management.

Something more or less for me to think about and hopefully help anyone out who reads this.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

The past week and last week have not been going so well. I've been trying to overcome the hill over and over, and I'm yet to climb over it. All my days lately have been losing 2-3 buy-ins at a time, or breaking even. Add that up and i'm slowly bleeding my bankroll away. The positive thing is, I am getting the much needed volume still which is good. Another positive outcome from this is I haven't completely went on any massive downswing like I have in the past where I lose 5-12 bi's each session over a 2 week period and all of a sudden going on a 15 to 25 bi downswing. Thank goodness for that. I've really just focused on playing through this and have had much better results.

When I go through downswings like this, it really takes a toll on me. I get a little more negative, hate life, frustration starts to set in, and I am just all around at the computer in a bad mood. The thing that makes me even more upset is when I look at my ev difference and adjust in my holdem manager and I should be up this much when I'm down this much. It's never the other way around for me where I can run over ev one time. That's another story, and I'm not here to complain, I'm here to keep positive. I use to rebuild confidence by playing a lot of small sessions just to book a win. I still do from time to time. It use to really help me but cuts into my volume I would save at least a 1/3 in the month. But since this small downswing, I've kept grinding through it trying to keep playing long sessions and put in the volume I need to pursuit what I hope to prepare for...SNE.

Rebuilding confidence is something that just kinda makes you feel better when you start to run good and win again. That is just a short term state of mind. I've been thinking about it and have to say I shouldn't let booking a win influence my mental state. I should be thinking about making the best decisions at all times and keep focusing on the game. When I get sucked out on, can't win any flips, or lose to smaller overs vs my overs, I can't let that effect me. It happens and it still bothers me here and there. I need to keep in control of myself, my body, and my mind. I'm in it for the long run and not the short run. If i'm going to rebuild confidence, it's going to be away from the table. If that means, taking a break to spend a few hours with my family, reviewing my sessions, reading a book, going for a walk, talking poker with other people, helping others with their game, etc.

I need to keep on focusing on quality and quantity. It's been getting a lot better through this downswing, but I HAVE to do it. Playing a small session just to book a win isn't in the cards for me if I want to become SNE. It's very important that I do build my bankroll by winning, but I have to still put in the volume not just for me, but to make the bonuses to support the family and pay the bills. I can't choose one way or the other way. I have to keep on grinding and play my A+++ game.

So what else can I write about to help rebuild confidence. My goals are a bit different from others. But if could help anyone out, like I wrote about earlier, play some shorter sessions. When your up, just quit and come back again if its later in the hour or the next day. It really helped to build my bankroll and win rate. When I was winning, I kept playing until I felt like I wasn't focused or when I play a a few pots, that's when quitting is best while your up. Winning one or two buy ins adds up over time. When you start to feel like you aren't focused anymore, or If you are losing a buy in or two, just quit and come back. Remember, thats balancing your shorter sessions. Another thing I would really do is go through your sessions in detail and review. When I thought I was running bad, it had a lot to do with playing bad. Find new leaks in your game will help you become a better poker player and in the end, rebuilding confidence.

Monday, August 2, 2010

After working on my game over the past 7 months playing full time online poker, put in over 1 million hands...I've finally had the best results since moving back to full ring!!! It's been a long grind, lots of hours, and stress the first 4 months pretty much breaking even, slightly losing, or barely winning. The fifth month, I won 20 bi's, sixth month broke even, and this month up 40BI's. More than the supernova bonus I accumulate every month. Good Sign indeed!!!

I've stepped up my game, I mean really stepped up my game over the past 3 months. It's been a long process, but I think I have a pretty good idea of the game, and I'm only improving now learning new things as I go. Depending on fpps was to stressful because it was frustrating not winning. I'm really dived into full ring poker as a result at 50NL and have to say, you can make a pretty decent income at 50NL. Hopefully I can moved back up to 100NL soon...only when I'm ready for it.

So as of July, the 3 main topics for my SNE pursuit will be the backbone and a skeleton to write about more of the little details within:SNE Prep 1.0Quality n QuantityMental Prep and Game Focus